Psychiatric ward: 2P England story
by kushamisaru
Summary: based off my own experiences (minus the romance .)
1. Prolouge

This is, without a doubt, one of the most terrifying days of your life.

Scratch that. It's _the_ most terrifying day of your life.

You look at the admission papers the doctor has filled out to the best of his ability, the only thing missing being your signature. You look at the line stating your reason for admission : Major Depression.

_Major Depression? _You think. _I don't have depression! I'm just going through a lot, that's all! Plenty of people would be down after going through what I have._

Lately it seemed you just suffered one blow after another. First, your asshole of an ex-boyfriend, the one you'd been with for almost a year, left you, and when you tried to be friends like you two agreed on, he acted very cold and distant. What the hell was he mad for? He left you!

Within days of losing your boyfriend, you found your stepmother whom you loved very much (Yes, it's possible to get along with step parents) had cancer. She had it before and while she was okay, your dad warned you that stress could bring it back. When you lost your boyfriend, you became very emotional, causing a lot of –you guessed it- stress in the family. You knew deep down it wasn't really your fault, but you still felt guilty.

The next fucking day, you found out your dad had diabetes. Your dad was always a pillar of strength for you and you looked to him when you had none. So when he lost control over as simple a choice as what to eat… it was very frightening to you. What was worse was in the days before you found out what was wrong, you noticed he lost a lot of weight. He also had a couple incidents where his blood pressure got dangerously high; like, stroke level high.

What was a cause of high blood pressure?

Oh yeah, stress.

So naturally you felt even _guiltier_ about that.

But these are just feelings. Feelings aren't enough to get you put in a ward, especially if you don't talk about them. And you weren't talking.

No, what got you here were the cuts on your wrists and the noose you tied with your bathroom robe's belt.

You weren't really going to use it, you tried to convince your parents. But you had lost a stepsister the same way and your father wanted to make damn sure he didn't lose you too.

Both parents tried to fight back tears as they went up the elevator with you and took you to the nurse who explained how procedures worked in the ward. Since you just turned 18, you'd be in the adult section. _But my mom said I'd be with kids my age!_ You thought fearfully, looking to her. That was the only comforting thought you had to hold on to. You imagined a bunch of creepy old men and bitchy women.

The nurse tried to comfort you, reassuring you that you'd be put in the high functioning section, away from the woman who was currently glaring daggers at you in another section. You decided if no one else, you could at least befriend this nurse. She was very nice to you and you liked her. She'd moved here from Nigeria and had a very strong accent, which you found somewhat amusing (not in a mean way).

You held your breath as the time came to meet the other patients. To your chagrin, most of them were well above your age, the closest to your age being 25. You feared they wouldn't like you.

But the minute you opened your mouth, that changed.

They told your parents you'd be okay. They mostly reassured your mom, since she was the most emotional of the three of you. They asked your name, how old you were (they had trouble believing you were 18), and why you were here. To your surprise, they were so… normal. And they were so friendly.

Still, you fought back tears as your mom and dad said goodbye. They promised to call and visit you later that day. You were lucky to have come when you did; you only had to wait an hour that day, and since tomorrow was the weekend, there were two visiting hours.

By the way, guess what day you were admitted? Friday the 13th.


	2. Day 1

When your folks left, slowly your tears dried and you became more comfortable. The group gave you a very warm welcome and treated you well. You figured that with you being the baby of the group, their protective parental instincts kicked in. This was supported by the fact that all but one of them were parents.

There was Celia, who was the queen bee. But not because she was a bitch or anything. No, quite the opposite. She had a very warm and loving personality that just attracted others to her. She was also fucking hilarious. In fact, she was the one who did the most of cheering you up. You guessed she wasn't as old as she looked; by the missing teeth, you figured she was a smoker, and that tended to age people. When you found out she was here to get away from her abusive husband, however, you felt pretty guilty.

There was Deb, who struck you as a little bit senile (and I do mean a little), but she was a kind soul. She was also pretty hilarious. You felt lucky to be in such a fun group.

Then there was Sarah. You wouldn't see much of her during your stay, but as far as first impressions go you were so excited to see her. You thought (incorrectly) that she was the closest to your age and hoped you'd be friends. She reminded you a lot of Darlene from Roseanne, in looks and –later on- in personality.

There was Tia, who came off you to as a quieter, nurturing type. You got a motherly vibe from her, and that was comforting to you.

There was Kitty, who _was_ closest to your age. She, Celia, and Deb seemed to have a pre-existing relationship with one another. And just like them, she was pretty funny. You noticed she was a bit spacy, her beautiful blue eyes (no homo) staring off into space. She looked like a slightly chubbier version of Hellboy's girlfriend; haircut and all.

And then there was Tex, the only guy of the group (for now ;D). You initially felt uncomfortable around him, as you did all men much older then you. But you soon realized he was just a big teddy bear, and you felt silly for feeling that way.

By the time your folks came back, you felt much better. Your mom and dad seemed to recover as well, which made you feel good. You were the kind of person to put others before yourself, after all.

8:00 came around, which meant your parents had to leave you again. This time, though. You didn't cry. Since the others were on sleep medication, most of them left to go to bed. Tia stayed the longest with you, probably not wanting to leave you alone. But soon even she left you.

You sat alone watching TV, the feeling of loneliness consuming you again.

"The others are probably asleep right now, but… Oh look, someone's up after all!" You heard a nurse start, heading in your direction. "What's your name again, dear?"

They asked you that a lot. Every 15 minutes, to be exact. You wondered whether they really didn't remember or they were just doing their job.

"_" You replied. You noticed the odd looking gentleman behind her.

"_, this is Oliver." You noticed the way his extremely fuzzy eyebrows flinched in annoyance. Had she said something wrong? "And Oliver, this is _."

He twitched again, and then smiled warmly at you. "Ello, love. Pleasure to meet you."

_Oh god, dat accent… _you thought to yourself. You smiled back. "Nice to meet you too, Oliver."

Another twitch, accompanied by a growl. "Please… call me Arthur."

"Oh, okay…" that was an odd substitution, you thought, but whatever.

He smiled again, and sat down next to you.

"Are you sure you're in the right section, Poppet? You look so young."

Now it was your turn to growl. Because of your height and your "looks" (which translated to you as a refusal to wear make-up and slutty clothes), people often thought you were younger than you actually were. Usually they were only off by a couple years, but once someone mistook you for a middle schooler.

"Yes. I'm 18."

He giggled at your annoyance. "Don't be so sensitive! You should be happy you look so young – You'll appreciate it later, trust me."

"Yeah, I can hardly wait to become a MILF."

He stopped giggling and looked confused. "MILF?"

"Mother I'd like to fuck."

He gasped and looked extremely offended. "I say, _! That's hardly proper speech for a lady!"

You looked at this guy in astonishment. Was he serious right now?

The look on his face told you that yes, he was very serious.

"I'm sorry… I normally don't talk that way. At least not around elders…"This was true. Your folks taught you to respect your elders, and you felt just about as awkward as he did now whenever you heard someone your age curse in front of their parents.

"Hmph. Elders or not, that's still vulgar speech. And I'm not that much older than you, you know. I'm only 20*."

"Oh…" You replied dumbly. "Well I'm still sorry."

"Well, I suppose I can't stay mad at such a cute face."

You blushed furiously, and found yourself unable to reply.

"So, what are you in for?"

"Um… depression."

"What? What on earth does a young lady like yourself have to be depressed about?"

You weren't sure if you wanted to tell him. You didn't have much of a problem telling the others why you were here, but for some reason you felt differently about him. Maybe you didn't want him to think less of you?

Eventually you figured what the hell and told him

"I'm here for depression."

"Depression? What does a young lady such as yourself have to be depressed about?"

"Well, first my boyfriend left me. Then my stepmom found out her cancer came back. And then my dad found out he's a diabetic. I felt guilty, like all this was my fault. So I cut my wrists and I…" You felt tears well up in your eyes "I tied a noose with my robe's belt. I wasn't gonna use it, honest! I don't think it was high enough to kill me anyway. But my folks still got scared and sent me here."

He looked at you sympathetically, patting you on the shoulder.

"Oh love, don't be so sad! Remember what Edgar Allen Poe said:

When things are looking gloomy

And not going your way

Just think of pretty colors

And that will make your day! **"

You were pretty sure Edgar Allen Poe never even _thought_ that. Still, Oliver… Arthur's personality was infectious, and you gave him a smile.

"Is that why you're wearing those extra bright colors?"

He seemed flushed with pride that you noticed. "Why, yes it is! I'm so glad you noticed!"

You laughed a little, partly because he completely misinterpreted your teasing as a compliment, and partly because… how could you _not _notice? His bright pink suit clashed greatly with his big blue bow. But that was okay; the bow went with his eyes. And when you looked at his eyes you couldn't help but notice it looked like he was wearing make-up.

Was this guy a clown or something?

You realized it was almost 11, and that meant the TV had to go off. Even though you were enjoying chatting with Arthur more than watching TV, that was your excuse for staying up. So you told him good night and blushed again when he kissed your hand, returning the blessing.

You were sure this wasn't gonna be as bad as you originally thought.

* I know Arthur's 23, but I thought that age gap would be a little too awkward

** Edgar Allen Poe did say that, but it was on an episode of Time Squad. I love that show!


	3. Day 2

Once you got to bed however, your mind quickly changed again. First off, it was pitch black in the room. You weren't scared of the dark, but you were used to sleeping with the TV on. The darkness mixed with the eerie silence and your current location made you feel very uncomfortable.

Speaking of uncomfortable, the bed wasn't exactly a Tempur-Pedic either. You'd slept on couches more comfortable; in fact, the couch in the social room was probably more comfortable.

You could've overlooked all that though. What really lit a fire in your belly was how the nurses would come in to check on you, Every. Fifteen. Fucking. Minutes. As if you were going anywhere. It was 12 in the morning (you guessed, you didn't have a clock in your room); what the hell did they expect you to be doing? And every time they came in the room, the bright lights from the hallway lit up your room like the Fourth of July. The icing the on this cake was how none of them had the common courtesy or knowledge to close the door completely once they were done. In fact, some of them left it wide open, forcing you to leave your lukewarm bed and close it yourself. You gave up after about the 20th time.

Since you couldn't sleep, and you had no TV to occupy your mind, you mostly thought. You thought about how you ended up here. How you didn't want to be here. You wanted to go home. Your thoughts consumed you until you were crying your eyes out. Back in the social room, you had others to distract you, but here in your own room, looking at the empty bed next to yours, you felt alone.

You eventually slipped into one of your "black out" sleeps, which always happened when your body knew you were cheating it out of sleep. Before you did though, you swore you heard voices… some familiar, some foreign.

When you woke up from your black out (looking out your window you guessed it was about four) you cried a little bit more, before falling asleep and dreaming of your family and a new show you'd grown a fondness for, "Gravity Falls"

You woke up again a couple hours later (AN: Look, as long as you're in your room, know that these time frames are all guesses okay? I had no way of knowing what time it was unless I was in the social room) . The sun always did this to you, it never let you sleep in. You thought about going back to sleep but you remembered that breakfast would be served in an hour so you decided to just suck it up. You finished a Sudoku puzzle you started the previous day and laid back down in bed.

A little while later, a way too perky nurse (for your tastes) came in and very politely told you she needed to draw some blood. You felt like you were in the twilight zone. Did they think you somehow acquired drugs in your sleep or something?! Still, you decided once again to suck it up.

It hurt, but not as bad as you thought. You refused to look while it was happening, but absentmindedly looked at the tube when it was finished. You shuddered.

Tired of staying in your room, you decided to go the social area. There you saw Arthur already awake. You noticed your matching band-aids on your arms.  
"I see you got the same fun wake-up call as me." You joked.

"Mmmmm…" He groaned.

You were a little confused by this strange behavior.

"So, um, how did you sleep?"

"Okay, I guess… and you?"

"Fine." You lied quickly. He didn't need to know about your horrible night. Why cause him unnecessary guilt?  
"That's good, love." He replied dully. You wondered if this was really the same the guy who misquoted Edgar Allen Poe to you yesterday.

"Hey um… are you okay? You seem down."

"I'm fine, dearie. Don't worry about me."

He wasn't as good a liar as you were. Figuring he simply wasn't a morning person, you shrugged his strange behavior off. You noticed something was different about him appearance wise as well…

"Hey, you have freckles!"

His eyes went wide with shock.

"I totally didn't notice that yesterday! Hey, does that make you a ginger?" You teased, not in a malicious way of course.

But Arthur wasn't laughing.

In fact, when you made eye contact you noticed tears in his eyes. Oh god, what did you do?

"T-they said, I couldn't bring my make-up… I have to wait until I leave."

"Oh! I'm sorry! I-I didn't know it was such a big deal to you! Please don't cry!" you freaked, going into your Tohru Honda phase (I'm full of references today, huh?).

Your words meant nothing to him and the tears fell down his face.

"Arthur, please don't cry! I um… I think they're cute!"

He looked at you again, in complete shock.

"You do?"

"Y-yeah…" You replied, blushing.

With that, he got up and left.

"I'm going back to bed, love. Don't worry if I skip breakfast, okay?"

"Um, okay?"

You were left feeling a strange mixture of guilt and confusion.

A little while later, Tex joined you, and you two chatted for a bit, relieving what little uneasiness you had towards him. The others soon followed (minus Arthur of course) and breakfast was served.

The meals came in standard hospital trays, each person's name typed on receipt like paper under their respective tray.

You were starving! You could hardly wait to eat. But wait… what the hell was that on your tray? You opened the case and saw what you guessed was oatmeal (actually wheat soup or some crap like that). You didn't order that! And coffee too?

This must be a mistake, you thought. And it was; it was just your mistake.

Apparently you had sent your breakfast order in too late yesterday, so they just gave you a generic breakfast. You had to send your order again and wait for them to cook it.

You wanted to cry watching pitifully as the others contentedly ate their food.

Fortunately, Celia was kind enough to offer you some of her food. Some of the others followed suit. You didn't take much, but you were so grateful for their generosity.

When your food came, you wolfed it down. You were happy the stereotype about crappy hospital food wasn't true.

A tiny Filipina nurse named Jessie came in to give you and the others your medicine for the day. You took the least, only two pills.

The rest of the morning was filled with lightheartedness. It was the same joyful atmosphere you enjoyed the day before.

"I wish Arthur was here enjoying it too…" You thought sadly.

Wait, what?

Why were you thinking about him at all?!

You shook the thought out of your head, feeling your face get a little red.

11:40 a.m. came around and the time came for your first group meeting. You felt nervous. What if they made you cry?!  
You tried not to think about that as you listened to the other's stories.

You already knew Celia's story, she was here trying to get away from her abusive boyfriend. You found it really hard to believe that a pistol like Celia would be in an abusive relationship. If anything, you'd think she'd be doing the abusing. KIDDING! But seriously, of all the people in this place, she was the last you'd expect to be here for that.

Kitty was here for drug and alcohol abuse. You kind of figured that, given her spacey demeanor.

Deb was here for depression. Her son recently died of drug abuse, and being a former druggie herself, she felt like it was her fault. Apparently Kitty was there on that night he got high for the last time and it affected her too. You wondered if they were dating. But you later found out Kitty was a lesbian, so they were just friends.

Sarah was there for anger management. Sarah kept to herself a lot so you didn't get a chance to see this too much. You thanked your lucky stars.

Tex came here because a few months back, he got into a really bad work related accident that left him with debilitating headaches. According to him, the pain from doing a task as simple as washing the dog was so excruciating he'd pass out for hours. When no pain medication helped, he contemplated suicide. His wife had him checked in after she got what she felt was a goodbye call.

And Tia… Tia was there for alcohol abuse. Tia had spent all of her life playing the "mother" role. All of her siblings, older and younger, lovingly dubbed her "mom" because when they were left with no parents, she was the one taking care of them all and handling business. This put a lot of stress on her so she started drinking. Apparently, she got physical with someone and they sent her here.

When it came to your turn to share, you felt ashamed. All these people had much worse problems than you. You felt silly compared to them. You told the same story you told before, and when asked questions, you didn't say any more than need be. You felt tears well up in your eyes, both from reliving the emotions that brought you here and shame at your reluctance to open up.

You decided you didn't like meetings.

Still, you went to next one a little while later, like the good little patient you were.

Celia, Deb, and Kitty managed to sneak out of this meeting. You didn't really have to go there since it was an alcoholic anonymous meeting, but you decided to stay since the man running it said you guys could also talk about whatever you were there for.

His name was Kurt. He had long gray hair and a beard to match. You should've figured he was a former alcoholic too. Looks count for something after all. He was nice enough; you felt he had genuine sympathy for you and your story. You figured since he had a little girl who was no longer able to see (legal issues; part of the reason he became sober) and you had a baby face, maybe he saw this young lady in front of him and was reminded of his girl.

Things went back to normal after that. Celia and the others came back, and the group was reunited.

All except Arthur…

For some reason, you really missed the Brit. So you decided to ignore his request and check on him in his room.

You found him in his room, making random doodles.

"Hello, _! What brings you here?" He chirped

You were a little put off by the dramatic change in attitude since you last saw him, but ignored it. "I was checking on you to see if you were doing any better."

"Yes, quite." He pulled the chair out next to him, patting it. "Would you like to sit down?"

"Oh, um… okay." You took the seat next to him. You saw what he was doodling: Various dresses, suits, and all other kinds of formal wear; all with tears, and all with needles sewing said tears up, threaded by some invisible force.

"I like your drawings." You stated lamely.

"Thank you!"

"Can I ask why all those outfits have holes and tears though?"

"Well you see, today is Saturday. Normally on Saturdays, I go through my clothes and sew up anything that has holes in it. But of course they'd never let sewing needles or thread in here. And since I didn't come here voluntarily, I didn't exactly have time to pack anyway." He sighed, looking gloomily at the green scrubs they gave all the patients who failed to bring extra clothes. "So I figured I'd just draw some stuff and sew it up!"

You thought that was kind of weird, but cute. "I wish I could draw. I can't draw for sh…" You caught the glare he gave you "I mean cra…" the look left and returned "I mean to save my life."

Pleased with your substitution, he smiled at you. "Come now, I'm sure it's not that bad."

"Trust me; I have poor motor skills. I can't even write well."

His smile never left his face. "Well that's alright poppet! We all have things we're not good at."

You smiled back. You had bad handwriting your whole life, so it wasn't the hot button you assumed he thought it was. But it was sweet of him to try and cheer you up.

"Hey… why don't you come with me to the social room? You haven't met the others yet; they're really nice!"

"Sure love!"

It did your heart good to see Arthur interact with the others. Tex and Arthur had very little in common, but being the only two guys in the group they had male bond, and oddly became good friends. Tia seemed to like him too. Sarah was in her room, so she didn't meet him.

Surprisingly, Celia and Arthur didn't get along too well. They had a similar personality, but Celia had a very bad potty mouth. Still, he appreciated her kindness and the two got along when she wasn't cursing all the time.

The first visiting hour came. Your dad and stepmom showed up. You were so happy to see them both! You told them all about your day so far and introduced them to Arthur, (actually you introduced your stepmom to everyone since she couldn't come up with you yesterday) he got along nicely with them, though your dad teasingly warned you against finding love in a psychiatric ward.

His exact words : I don't wanna see you on an episode of locked up hook up!

He also teased his wife, saying Kitty was eyeing her. Probably a lie; since her girlfriend came to visit her. But it'd be a recurring joke for your time here.

Visiting hours ended, and your folks said goodbye. Aside from another visiting hour (your mom and grandma showed up this time) and meeting a doctor named Tim who seemed crazier than any of you, nothing else eventful happened that day.

That night, you took a shower in the cramped shower area. Like your first experience sleeping here, this first experience also wasn't the best.

You waited about 5 minutes, totally naked, for the water to warm up before you realized the labels were backwards. So cold was hot, and hot was cold.

You also learned that the more extreme of either temperature you put it on, the rougher it was. Your poor breasts suffered dearly at the hands of the unrelenting water drops. It felt like someone was throwing wet rocks at your boobs.

You got out too late to get any good snacks from the last snack time of the day. But that was alright, you weren't too hungry anyway. You all watched Contagion. It was okay, but not your type of movie.

Everyone except you and Arthur went to bed once again. You had deducted that this was because they all took sleeping pills. You considered asking for some yourself, but ultimately decided against it out of fear that you'd become addicted.

You and Arthur chatted until 11 once more. You realized that no one really enforced the 11 o clock rule, but you figured it was late enough for you to go to be. Arthur kissed your hand again, lingering a little longer than before, and bid you good night.

Your dad's words echoed in your head.


	4. Day 3

You slept only a little better that night. You still had the battle with the nurses leaving the door open, and you heard the voices again, but overall you felt like you were getting used to things.

You were now halfway through your stay here. It was bittersweet; you were happy to be almost done, but you really enjoyed everyone's company too (especially Arthur's). They were really nice to you, after all.

But then you got out of bed this morning.

There was a new patient in your group this morning, named Jenny. She was from the um… lesser functioning side. Apparently one of the male patients tried to touch her inappropriately on that section so she was sent over to your side.

Don't you just love hospital logic? They sent her here not because she was high functioning, but because she was touched inappropriately. "This crazy bitch…"you thought to yourself. Then you mentally scolded yourself for being so mean and judgemental. You figured you should at least give her a chance.

It was very clear she wasn't gonna be as easily accepted into your group as you were. During her first meeting, she got into an argument with Sarah and called you out saying that what happened to you wasn't a good enough reason to do what you did. As if you didn't feel stupid about it already. A good thing that came with it though was that Arthur came to your defense. You practically melted.

You'd pretty much given up fighting the feelings you were developing for Arthur. It was useless after all. You had this annoying habit of falling for people quickly. You wouldn't say you were in love so soon, but you at least admitted to having a crush on him.

Jenny also went on to talk about how she was married, but talking to some guy all the way in Ghana or something because her husband paid more attention to the sports channel than her. And how she didn't feel pretty. And… damn, she talked for most of the meeting.

The level of annoyance everyone else felt in the room was almost tangible.

Next thing you knew, Jenny was out of there. It turns out she was the one making sexual advances. But they didn't send her to another hospital. They actually let her go home. Again, you gotta love hospital logic.

You told your parents about the crazy experience with Jenny. Your dad and stepmom also got to see Tim, who your dad said looked and sounded like Hannibal Lecter. You didn't do scary movies so you didn't know for sure, but you already didn't like Tim and your dad making that comparison didn't make you like him any more.

Your dad also told you that he told his father what happened to you. You were a little embarrassed, but you figured it wasn't a big deal.

Until he called you later.

"Hey, Dusty!" you answer cheerily, calling him by the nickname you and siblings used.

"Hey."

The smile was wiped off your face. It sounded like he was crying…

"A-are you okay?"

"I'm fine, don't worry about me. Are YOU okay?"

"Uh… yeah… I'm feeling better now."

"Good."

Your grandfather went on to tell you if anything was wrong again you could always tell him, and that sometime after you got out he was going to take you to eat and spend more time with you in general. He also said he'd see you tomorrow.

You had mixed emotions. You were touched that your grandpa cared so much. You barely saw him after all. But at the same time, you made him cry… you'd never even seen your grandpa sad, let alone cry. He was always so cheerful!

You told the others what happened and they told you he was probably feeling guilty for not spending more time with you in the first place. They were trying to make you feel better, you were sure. But you still felt guilty. You didn't like hurting anyone, especially loved ones.

Seeing your sadness, Arthur pulled you into a hug.

"Awwww, come on _! Do cheer up. I hate seeing you so sad."

Your brain went on pause, like a reverse twix commercial. "U-u-uh, I… uhh…. O-okay."

The other patients thought this was absolutely adorable and teased you to no end. In your eyes, the two of you were as good as together. And unfortunately, with Arthur gone doing something he called "Deep Cleaning"*, you were the one receiving the brunt of the jokes.

Today was a day for new people, it seemed. Later that afternoon, a new arrival, Taylor, came in. Taylor seemed a lot like you did when you first came in. Through an exercise you did in group, you gathered the reason she was here had to do with a divorce and kids. Poor lady, you thought.

Taylor turned out to be your new roommate. You felt kind of iffy about that. You liked having your own room. But it's not like you could just kick her out!

For most of the first day she slept in your room. Whatever happened to her seemed to have her emotionally exhausted. Again, you felt really sorry for her.

Celia said she felt sorry for you. She said Taylor looked like a crier, and you wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight. You wanted to say you weren't anyway, but that's your business. You wished there was something you could do for your new roommate.

Next came Natalyia. Natalyia probably had the saddest story of anyone there. Natalyia grew up in an abusive household. She fled as soon she could with her boyfriend, but then she got MS. When that happened, her boyfriend turned into a DICK. You didn't like to talk bad about people, but that's what he was; a dick. Here's just a taste of what a class act this fucker was: When things got so bad Natalyia told him she was contemplating suicide, he told her "Don't do it in my house, because that'll bring down the price."

But since her only other option was to go to back to that hell hole, and since she somehow still thought he was a "nice guy" (she insisted this several times), she was stuck with him.

You still get pissed off just thinking about that.**

There was one last addition to your group today. Her name was Mary. She looked about 8 ½ months pregnant, though she looked a bit too old to be popping out any more babies. Maybe some stress in her life aged her?

Nah, she wasn't actually pregnant. But when she insisted she was even when Ultra sounds proved negative, her crazy ass was sent to the lesser functioning side. You didn't see her for more than an hour.

But enough introductions.

Taylor finally came out of your room a few hours later, and slowly started opening up. You were reading (or re-reading) a book you got on zodiac signs. You felt flushed with pride when the others took interest in your book and asked you to read about their signs.

You were a zodiac geek, to put it mildly. So it was interesting to see what their signs were. Aquarians ruled the day, with 2 (or 3 if you're one like moi!) people under that sign; Tex and Kitty.

Celia was a Leo, which made absolutely perfect sense.

Deb was a Gemini

Tia was a Libra.

Sarah was a Virgo.

You were a (insert zodiac sign here. Since I'm such a geek, I'd love it if you guys told me in the comments. PLEASE?! It'd make me so happy!)

Taylor was a Scorpio. Everyone let out a groan out at that, and you blushed in embarrassment for her. You actually liked Scorpios. Most people focused on their bad side, but if you were on good terms with a Scorpio you couldn't find a more loyal person.

Natalyia wasn't there for this conversation, but you'd guess she was a Cancer or Pisces.

Arthur nearly missed this conversation too, but got back just in time from his "deep cleaning". You were too embarrassed to ask yourself what his sign was, so Celia asked for you.

He was a Taurus.

Your heart sank. Your last two boyfriends were Taurus men. One left you for some slutty girl he had an on off relationship with, and the other… well, you know the story.

Soon the conversation turned to other things. Taylor's mood continued to lighten, which did your heart good. You were worried it would take her a while to open up.

Natalyia still felt guilty about what she had said about her boyfriend, but you all convinced her she had no reason to be. She seemed to like you (no homo), you two were sort of kindred souls; being kind to a fault and all.

Laughs were had and jokes were made, like always. Surprisingly, everyone didn't go to bed at 8. It was more like, 9 ish. You were glad for the extra company, but you were a little annoyed because you wanted your alone time with Arthur.

You blushed at the way your mind phrased that. So many double meanings…

Even though your time was cut a little short, you still got some time. Arthur once again seemed extra affectionate today. It seemed now that he broke the touch barrier (even though your body language gave no signals that you were okay with it), he could hug you all he wanted now. After a while you just kind of… got used to it. He asked you to read more of your zodiac book to him.

By this time, the two of you were sitting on the couch, his arms around you. It was well past 11 so the TV was off. You read the entries for his signs and yours (TELL ME NOW!), blushing when it talked about love and… ahem… other things. Still, you couldn't help but enjoy this… He was really comfy, and warm, and he smelled nice…

A nurse doing her 15 minute check broke you out of your thoughts. You jumped out of his arms and to the other side of the couch. Arthur seemed amused by your response, which was kind of good. You didn't want him to think you didn't like him, after all…

Feeling like you'd experienced enough awkwardness caused by him today, you bid him goodnight. This time, rather than the kiss to the hand, he gave you a kiss on the cheek. Dangerously close to your lips.

Taylor noticed your giddiness and asked what was up. You lied and said nothing, trying to hide your joy. She had the light on since she was reading, but she turned it off a little later. You turned your back to her to hide your smile on your face.

Then you remembered something from your first day…

On the computer screens at the front desk, there were camera views of everything. The social room, the group rooms (which you never saw), even the bedrooms. The only safe places were your bathroom and the showers.

They saw EVERYTHING.

You wanted to die of embarrassment.


	5. Day 4

Today was going to be a very sad day.

The 3 most fun people were all going home today; Celia, Deb, and Kitty. It was going to be so boring without them!

The instant they left, their absence was felt. Everyone was still friendly, but it wasn't the same…

You all decided to watch some movies.

You felt awkward watching some of the more romantic movies (I'm sure you all know the feeling, right?). Part of you worried (and hoped) Arthur would be affectionate again during this parts. But he seemed to be in the depression half of his Manic Depression today.

You learned that and OCD were the reason he was here yesterday during a meeting. You felt like you should've been able to deduce that; you did know a little about psychology. In fact, you planned to be a psychiatrist.

It really hurt you to see him like this. You wanted to reach out to him, but you were much too shy to make a move.

You finally sucked it up and when no one was looking, you hugged him. He blushed… Oh my god, it was so cute!

You pulled away quickly. "Um… you looked like you needed cheering up. So… yeah." You stated lamely, blushing furiously yourself.

"Excuse me." He replied, flustered. He got up and left.

You mentally cursed yourself. _Stupid, stupid, stupid! Now you've scared him off! He doesn't like me after all! _

A new arrival came in today; this time a young man named Jeff. Once you noticed the Aries tattoo on his arm, you knew you would like this guy.

Another arrival whose name you couldn't remember * showed up. He was a much older, scrawnier man. This man terrified you. His deep scruffy voice, his face… everything about him was scary to you. But when you had a group with him you realized he wasn't a bad guy. He was actually pretty sweet.

These two, while nice additions to your group, didn't really fill the gap left by the other three. Your grandfather came to visit you, as promised, as well as your folks. But today was really boring…

You noticed that Jeff seemed to take a liking to you. Even when you were talking to someone else, his attention seemed to be on you. When you made a joke (or even a light remark), he laughed. You were sort of flattered by this new attention, but it was unrequited. And you always felt uncomfortable around people who had feelings for you that you couldn't return.

Much to your dismay, he sparked a conversation with you. But strangely enough, as you started talking, you found it easier and easier… You realized you liked talking to him

A little while later, manic Arthur came back. Well, at least he _acted _like manic Arthur. There was something off about him though…

You had to admit, you got a sort of a kick out of the look on his face when he saw you and Jeff talking. You mentally cheered when he sat next to you. And when he took your hand, your heart soared.

Jeff noticed Arthur's possessiveness of you and rather bluntly asked, "Hey… are you two dating?"

You weren't really sure how to respond. Arthur was kind of giving you mixed signals, but you were pretty sure he liked you. I mean, look how jealous he was getting! But dating… you didn't think you were there just yet. You looked at him, leaving him to answer.

He let go of your hand before answering (sweetly) "Nope, just good friends!"

Your heart sank. You felt stupid again. Of course you weren't a couple! You didn't do anything to make it official. You didn't even kiss…

You felt your face heat up from embarrassment at that thought and from fighting back tears. You excused yourself and went to your room.

Arthur followed you, and tried to cheer you up, but you would have none of it.

You eventually came out on your own. You ended up missing a meeting, but you had made it to every other one. You figured one wouldn't keep you here an extra day. Arthur hugged you tight, but you pushed him off. You weren't really as mad as you acted, but acting this way caused Arthur to dote on you and you really liked that.

Night came, and it was a restless one for you. You tossed and turned, but sleep was not coming to you. You remembered Tex mentioning to you that he slept on the couch in the social room his first night here and how much more comfortable it was than the beds. So you dragged your thin blanket and went back to the social room.

The nurses didn't tell you had to get up; they let you lay there, to your joy. Just as you were about to fall asleep, you felt someone brush your hair lovingly. Your eyes shot open and you practically fainted when you saw Arthur, his face inches from you.

Your scream was muffled by Arthur's hand covering your mouth, telling you "Shhh". When you calmed down, he moved it.

"What are you doing here?!"

"Well love, it's our last day here. And I figured since you were in here, we could sleep together!"

You blushed madly. "W-what? Arthur… I mean… we barely know each other! And the cameras…." You trailed off, noticing him laying down on the other, shorter couch.

"What _ARE _you going on about, _?"

Damn your perverted mind!

"U-um… nothing. Look, why don't I take that couch? You're taller than me; you need more room."

"Oh don't worry, _. I don't mind."

"Well I do! So come on, let's switch."

"Nope!"

"Get over here before I pick your petite… _butt _up before I throw you on this couch myself."

He laid down in a submissive manner, smirking devilishly. "Please do." He responded seductively.

You blushed and turned your back on him. "F-fine! Stay over there!"

Silence ensued for a while. A nurse came in again and oddly enough didn't have any objections to you two being there together. Your embarrassment faded a bit, and you turned to face him.

"H-hey, what's your deal? Why are you so touchy feely with me, and why are you always flirting with me and stuff?"

He had a good , long laugh at your expense. You threw your only pillow at him.

"It's not funny!"

"It kind of is, _. Isn't it obvious? I'm fond of you!"

Your brain stopped. "Y-you what?"

"I like you, _."

You couldn't believe this was happening. He felt the same way about you! You accidentally let out the squeal that was only supposed to happen in your head. He looked at you with adoration, making your blush even worse before you responded

"Well, um… I like you too."

A huge smile made its way across his face as he ran over to you and jumped on top of you, hugging you.

"A-arthur! Knock it off! This is so embarrassing!"

He ignored your request, kissing your face all over; your cheeks, your forehead, your nose… Your heart started pounding as he hovered above your lips.

"Arthur…?" You inquired, annoyed that he was taking his sweet time about kissing you. He seemed to take your hint, leaning down and closing the gap between you.

Your eyes popped open as you remembered; the cameras! You broke the kiss and pushed him off of you, disappointing him greatly.

"I'm sorry, I just… I can't. Not here at least. It's just… too weird, you know?" You didn't wait for a response before turning your back to him again, closing your eyes. You heard Arthur sigh sadly and lay back down on the opposite couch.

Needless to say, your last night here was a restless one.


	6. Final day

**Called the final day because it's your last day at the ward, not the final chapter**

"Wake up love." You heard a voice say, halfway dragging you out of your sleep. You chose to ignore it.

"_, it's time to get up!" The voice persisted sweetly. You refused to act once again

This time you heard a chuckle come from the voice before feeling something soft on your lips. Your eyes shot wide open before slowly closing back, returning the kiss.

"Alright, alright," you giggled, "I'm up."

A huge, childish grin broke out on his face, perhaps because you didn't push him away this time.

"How did you sleep?"

"Fine." It wasn't a complete lie. Once you got to sleep you had a very pleasant dream. 3 guesses on what it was about. "And you?"

"Like a baby."

You smiled, getting up and stretching. "That's good. So, what time is it?"

Arthur's eyes darted towards the clock and back to you. "6:55."

The smile was wiped off your face. You groaned and laid back down. "Arthurrrrr! Why'd you wake me up so early?" You whined.

He put on his best puppy dog face. I'm sorry love. It's just… today's your last day here, and I wanted to spend as much time with you as possible…"

Your anger melted. You'd completely forgotten today was your last day here. But… you two arrived on the same day, right?

"Hey, aren't you going home today too?"

He smiled sadly. "I'm not sure. I've behaved pretty well, but I don't know if they think I've made any progress."

"Of course you have! You seem pretty balanced out to me! And you may still have some OCD tendencies, but if you ask me, that's a blessing, not a curse. Haven't you ever seen Monk?"

"Look, let's not think about that right now. Breakfast will be here soon, and so will the others."

That request proved impossible. You HATED the thought of leaving Arthur here. The little bit of joy you had for this day had disappeared, and you tried your hardest to fight back tears during breakfast.

You waited patiently as your psychiatrist called his other patients one by one to talk to them about how they were doing. If you weren't trying to savor every last moment you had here, this would've pissed you off. You and Tex were the only patients of his going home today, what did it matter how the others felt?

Arthur's psychiatrist (it seems they were all in today) called for him, leaving you with the others. You crossed your fingers, prayed, wished, everything else you could think of that Arthur would get to go home today too.

When he returned with a glum look on his face though, your heart sank.

"They're going to keep me until tomorrow." He told you.

"Arthur… I'm so sorry…"

He didn't respond.

"B-but hey! At least it's just one day, right? It could've been worse!"

"But that's a whole day here without you…"

Damn it. "Then I'll stay with you."

"R-really?"

"Yes. I don't want to leave you here either, you know."

He hugged you tight, happy tears forming in his eyes. "Thank you, _. You've made me so happy!"

To your surprise, your choice didn't make you feel any better. You realized that you missed home. You especially missed your siblings, who weren't able to visit you your whole time here. But you had made Arthur happy, and that helped a little.  
The phone rang. As usual, it was for you. You ran up to answer it. Little did you know Arthur followed and was listening to you talk.  
He saw how happy you were when you realized it was one of your sisters calling.  
He saw the guilt on your face and in your face when you lied and told your sister you weren't sure if you were coming home today, but you hoped so.

And his heart hurt for you.

He couldn't do this. He couldn't make you hurt.

When you came back into the room, Arthur (who discretely made it on to the couch without you noticing) motioned for you to sit next to him, a sullen expression on his face.

"Hey, _... I changed my mind. When the psychiatrist asks if you're ready, tell the truth okay?"

"W-what? But why?"

"Just… please? Do it for me."

You still weren't aware that he had been eavesdropping on your conversation, but you knew that he was doing this for you. He was sacrificing his happiness for yours.

You hugged him tight, so grateful to him. "I love you." You whispered.

He pulled back. "Y-you what?!"

Shit! You had broken one of your biggest rules when it came to relationships; never say "I love you" first. You didn't mean to just blurt it out; you were just so touched by what he'd done for you and…

Your thoughts were interrupted by another kiss. Your pounding heart relaxed a little, taking this as a sign that the feeling was mutual.

"I love you too." He finally replied after breaking apart.

Your doctor finally called you up. You told him you were feeling much better and you were ready to go home. With that, (and a few release forms) you were on your way out.

You called your folks and told them they could get you now. You packed your things and told everyone goodbye. Taylor seemed especially sad to see you go, so you, she, and Arthur worked on a puzzle until your folks came to get you.

They both gave you their wristband ID numbers so you could call them. With that, you said goodbye, and you were on your way


	7. Epilouge

The instant you left, you were flooded with calls from concerned family members. You were so touched to know how many people cared, how many lives would be hurt without you.

Your dad told you to stay with your mom your first night out. It wasn't that he didn't want you home, but he saw how this whole incident had shaken her up and he felt awful for her.

While you were there, you remember he told you he sent a message to you on facebook about this ordeal. When you got home, your mom let you check it. This is what it said:

• As I'm sitting here trying to figure out what went wrong I can only come to one conclusion, I have failed u as a father. I really mean that. For all the saddnes I've had in my life nothing has ever hurt me as much as walking out of that hospital and leaving u there. Im so very sorry that the life I've provided' for 'u makes u so miserable that u want hurt yourself . You are and always will be my everything. I feel helpless cause I don't know what to do to help u. If someone was bothering u I could choke the shit out of them and protect u, but your hurting yourself. I'm dropping everything on my schedule and I'm here for u completely. Please tell me what u need from me. Lets have a do over and get it right this time. I love u and I hope your not scared as you're laying in bed in a strange place. No matter where you are your dad is with you. Love u .

You cried a little reading this. Curse your big heart.

Night couldn't come soon enough for you. As soon as the sun went down, you called Arthur (you and him agreed beforehand to wait till that night). He was overjoyed to hear your voice; he babbled on and on about how he missed you and he loved you. It melted your heart. He asked how your day was and you told him everything; how you went to Sonic's and didn't feel sad when you saw the Seville next to it (the Seville was where you to Prom with your ex), the letter you got from your dad, all your relatives being happy you were okay… you two talked well into the night, definitely breaking the 10 minute per call rule. But you didn't care.

It's not like anyone followed that rule anyway.

When you hung up you found yourself too giddy to sleep, so you watched TV. When live TV became too boring, you watched recordings of a certain children's show that shall not be named that your sisters recorded for you as a joke. You hated yourself for it, but with each passing episode you watched, you got entranced. You watched over 20 episodes through the course of the night and were sad when you got to the last one.

Your mom, being the worrywart she is, came into the room you were in for one of her nightly checks. She was so racked with guilt over the fact that you didn't get any sleep she stayed with you until you did. You ended up getting only about 2 hours of sleep, but it didn't seem to affect you… or if it did, to the opposite extreme that one would expect. In other words, you were more alert and energetic than usual.

Arthur called you that morning. Apparently he got very little sleep that night too, eager to find out when he'd get to see you again and um… have some time with you without cameras watching.

Your heart did a weird jump-then-sink thing. You knew it was going to take a hell of a lot of convincing to get your parents to accept Arthur as your boyfriend. You told him you'd have to discuss it with them.

You were met with a lot of opposition, but you were persistent. Eventually, your parents gave in; hoping Arthur would turn into a jerk and you'd learn your lesson.

But he didn't. He turned out to be quite the gentleman. A real one too; not a phony one like your past boyfriend turned out to be. And despite their best efforts, they ended up liking him.

Once this happened, your parents let you go to visit his house, where you finally had the "alone time" he (and admittedly you too) wanted so bad. To your surprise, nothing really happened on the first visit. A few kisses here and there, but when he mentioned he wanted to be alone with you, you kind of figured…

You blushed, scolding yourself for having such dirty thoughts.

When Arthur sensed your uneasiness on about the 3rd visit, however, you came clean. To your surprise (again), he was more than happy to oblige you.

All you had to do was ask.

Arthur and your relationship was… is far from perfect. Like any couple, you fight, go through hard times, disagree, and all that jazz. But perfection is boring. You both realize this, and realize that wouldn't be happier with anyone else.


End file.
